Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Xulfer Cirtsag · 11-29-2004, 04:31 PM

Wow, this review sold me. :down:

Quote:

Most people don't understand what this book is for. This book
came about because Saddleback Church (Rick Warren's Church)
was facing a set of problems that many Churches today face.
Saddleback was experiencing explosive growth in membership.

With that explosive growth, the leader of the Church can't
possibly individually minister to every person in the Church.
There is also a problem of controlling the Church. Junior
leaders left to help groups among the Church can often get out
of control and spread non-christian ideas into a Church.

The purpose-driven life is only one part of a bigger set of
changes that need to be made to Churches. The book tells new
Christians exactly what they should do and what they should
no. It prepares a new Church member by a fixed Godly method
in 40 days to be a useful and correct Church Member.

The two really important ideas not in this wonderful book
(but practiced at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church) are
Covenents and Church Discipline. Those are very important
ideas to the new Church, but they are not in "purpose-driven
life" because that book is the road that prepares people for
them for those ideas.

A Covenent is a agreement between a Church Member and the Church
where promises are made by the member in exchange for being
admitted to the Church. The first promise is that obedence.
To have a well-run Church (like Saddleback), the unity of the
Church must be preserved above all else. Members must be loyal
above all else to the Church, sin-free, and keep their promises
to the Church (financial, time, etc). A Church is a business
and should be run on business lines. A business cannot function
if employees are allowed to do whatever they want. Rick Warren's
great gift from God was seeing that simple fact.

Church Discipline means simply that the days of people getting
away with doing whatever they want and still being members of
a Church is over. Members, as at Saddleback Church, have to
get used to the idea that the Pastor and the leaders of the
Church have the same authority over their lives as parents
do over their Children. And that those who defy the authority
of the Church need to be publically rebuked or (as necessary)
expelled from the Church.

Removing people from the body of Christ is never a happy time,
but Rick Warren has never neglected his duty in this regard.
He has driven probably hundreds out who had defied the authority
of the Church. And as a result, he has a growing unified Church.

This book is the most important thing anyone's life to read.
It will bring you into a closer relationship with your Church
and help you to be a more useful resource for your Church.

Thank you Rick Warren. For all you have done for so many.

espritch · 11-29-2004, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Church Discipline means simply that the days of people getting
away with doing whatever they want and still being members of
a Church is over. Members, as at Saddleback Church, have to
get used to the idea that the Pastor and the leaders of the
Church have the same authority over their lives as parents
do over their Children. And that those who defy the authority
of the Church need to be publically rebuked or (as necessary)
expelled from the Church.

Toe the line or be excomunicated. How very Catholic of them.

diana · 11-30-2004, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kosh

What's wrong with that? The NT does it all over the place!

:notworthy

Mark, old buddy....thanks. I needed that.

d

collyblom · 12-01-2004, 12:21 AM

Interestingly, Barry Ronge wrote about this book in his column on Sunday. Here it is, if you're interested. Apparently it reached No 7 on the bestseller list last month.

I haven't read the book (assuming it to be a waste of time, similar to The Prayer of Jabez), but some of my friends and family have. In fact, the churches (this is one of them)they attend are pushing it as a prescribed book, and working through it at "Bible" studies.....

Toto · 12-01-2004, 12:40 AM

Faith Based Publishing

Quote:

Warren speaks proudly of the pre-election mailing that he sent to the pastors in his network, telling them that abortion, stem cell research and same-sex marriage were among the ''non-negotiable'' issues in the election.

. . .

But nothing sells like "The Purpose Driven Life." When sales hit 20 million copies in September, HarperCollins, a division of the News Corporation, gave Warren a party at the Rainbow Room, where Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive of the News Corporation, led a toast. (Working both sides of the street, another HarperCollins imprint has the fall best seller "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star," by Jenna Jameson, who would know.)

Warren's book is not a fundamentalist tract, but rather a collection of 40 wide-ranging questions aimed at helping readers lead a better, more Christian life. Congregations read it together, and in a culture of hyperspecialization, there is certainly something compelling about a group of people being on the same page. Still, it's unclear whether the stellar sales of "The Purpose Driven Life" and other religious titles speak to a newfound spiritual thirst in the culture -- portending a third Great Awakening, as Warren argues -- or are more indicative of great marketing.

The success of religion titles is also due to an increasing sophistication on the part of Christian publishers, who during the 90's branched out from Christian retailers and forged closer relationships with stores like Wal-Mart and Costco; Wal-Mart carries 1,200 "inspirational titles" at any given time. Since the 80's, "Christian publishing has improved in its marketability of the product itself," says Anderson. There's also a lot of repackaging going on. You can often find versions of the same books aimed at women, teenagers or children.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

12-01-2004, 12:21 AM	#14
collyblom Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: South Africa Posts: 92	Interestingly, Barry Ronge wrote about this book in his column on Sunday. Here it is, if you're interested. Apparently it reached No 7 on the bestseller list last month. I haven't read the book (assuming it to be a waste of time, similar to The Prayer of Jabez), but some of my friends and family have. In fact, the churches (this is one of them)they attend are pushing it as a prescribed book, and working through it at "Bible" studies.....

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.